Ground Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry
I love Chinese stir-fry but I can’t afford the grease, sodium and fat that can come along with it (and nor do I want to)! If you’re not a big fan of broccoli or just a veggie lover in general, add other vegetables such as onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots…the more the merrier when it comes to stir fry. Whenever the urge strikes, I reach for this recipe and am instantly satisfied. If you’d like to deviate slightly from paleo while still remaining uber healthy, try this over brown rice or quinoa. Add some red pepper flakes for some spice!
| Prep Time | 5 |
| Cook Time | 15 |
| Servings |
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- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 cup chopped broccoli florets
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp rice wine
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp minced garlic
Ingredients
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- Combine soy sauce, rice wine, honey, five spice powder and salt in a small bowl.
- Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat and add olive oil.
- Add ginger and garlic and stir.
- Add ground chicken with half of the sauce mixture and stir until lightly browned.
- Add in broccoli florets and the remainder of the sauce and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
[recipe]
Succulent Sweet Dijon Thighs
As you know I’m constantly on the lookout for alternatives to basic boring chicken breast recipes. Chicken thighs are always tender and therefore automatically delicious (not to mention easy and inexpensive – always a bonus)! This recipe combines tangy Dijon with sweet and zesty balsamic vinegar and spices for a chicken dish that’s healthy and jam packed with flavor! Pop it in the oven and dinner is ready!
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- Salt and black pepper
- Place chicken thighs in a container and cut slits in each thigh.
- Rub garlic powder, paprika, salt and black pepper on chicken.
- In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme and garlic cloves.
- Pour the marinade over the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes (or longer if possible).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Transfer the chicken to a slightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
Senorita Panda’s Spiced Rubbed Fiesta Chicken
Trying to eat healthy but the thought of more grilled chicken breasts makes you want to eat dirt? I think we can all grow tired of the same plain (but lean) boring chicken. I spiced it up last night with this spiced rubbed fiesta chicken that really brings the heat with flavor and texture. The zesty avocado salsa adds the perfect dimension of coolness and deliciousness. I’ve also discovered the PERFECT way to bake a tender chicken breast. The trick is to bake it at 375 degrees for 20 minutes covered with foil so the inside cooks perfectly then remove the foil for the last 10 minutes so the top gets golden without drying it out!
- 2 boneless skinless breasts
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Juice of 1 lime wedge
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small bowl, mix together the chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder and thyme.
- Coat the chicken breasts with olive oil, seasoning mixture, salt and black pepper.
- Place the chicken breasts in a glass baking pan, cover and seal with a layer of foil then bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- While the chicken is baking, prepare the fiesta salsa by combining the tomatoes, cilantro, olive oil, cumin, garlic, salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Toss in the avocado and lime juice.
- Once the chicken has slightly cooled, slice and top with fiesta salsa!
Bacon Wrapped Honey Dijon Chicken Breasts
I am on a serious Dijon mustard kick. It’s so low in calories but it ads so much zest to every bite…mix a little honey with it and you get that perfect sweet ‘n salty explosion for your taste buds. I think everyone can agree that you can wrap anything in bacon and it will be delicious. For that reason alone (and so many more), you’ll love this golden sweet tangy chicken wrapped in smoky thick bacon. The flavor of the bacon seeps into the chicken as it cooks. Amazing, right?
- 2 chicken breasts
- 6 slices of thick cut bacon
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp honey
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Season chicken breasts with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
- Mix together Dijon mustard and honey in a small bowl.
- Coat each chicken breast with honey mustard mixture.
- Wrap slices of raw bacon around each chicken breast until entire breast is covered (approximately 3 slices for each breasts depending on size).
- Apply another layer of honey mustard mixture on top of bacon covered chicken breasts.
- Line an 8 x 13 baking pan with tinfoil and coat with olive oil spray to prevent chicken breasts from sticking.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Hot Thai Kitchen – Garlic Pepper Chicken and Shrimp
My boyfriend found an awesome blog and youtube cooking channel while looking for a delicious Thai recipe to make this weekend…Hot Thai Kitchen! Pai has the best authentic Thai recipes with cooking videos to walk you through each step. He attempted, and very successfully so, the mouthwatering garlic pepper chicken (and shrimp) and it was absolutely amazing. He infused olive oil with garlic then sprinkled the leftover browned garlic on the chicken…you cannot even imagine the explosion of flavors! Click here for Pai’s Hot Thai Kitchen Garlic Pepper Chicken recipe. Here’s my paleo version of this awesome recipe!
Browned garlic and infused olive oil, yum!
The final masterpiece!
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into 1-cm cubes
- 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 10 oz. bag of spinach
- 1 tbsp Ty Ling oyster sauce (loosely paleo-friendly with some fermented soy and corn but wheat-free)
- 2 tbsp liquid aminos
- 1 tsp Red Boat fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp coconut palm sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 8 cilantro stems, chopped
- 8 garlic cloves, chopped
- Mix chicken with Ty Ling oyster sauce, liquid aminos, Red boat fish sauce, white pepper and black pepper.
- To make the garlic infused olive oil, place the garlic in a small pot or wok and add just enough olive oil to cover the garlic. Fry garlic over low heat until the garlic turns golden brown and the bubbling has mostly stopped, about 5 minutes. Drain garlic from oil, reserving the oil.
- In a wok, add 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil and heat over high heat. Pour a tablespoon of the remaining garlic oil into the marinated chicken and stir.
- When the oil is hot, add the chicken and coconut palm sugar and stir until chicken is cooked.
- Add shrimp for the last 2 minutes of cooking and mix in half of the fried garlic and chopped cilantro stems and remove from heat.
- Sauté spinach with olive oil and garlic and serve with the chicken and shrimp (sprinkling the remaining fried garlic all over)!
Paleo Hot Wings
Hot wings are an all-time American classic. What isn’t classic is the amount of fat and sodium that comes along with these deep-fried wings smothered in sauces. Traditionally, a serving of 4 deep-fried hot wings contains 240 calories with 17 grams of fat and 60 milligrams of cholesterol (20% of your recommended limit for cholesterol intake for the day). You can still enjoy these hot wings without the fat and sodium…and eat as many as your stomach can handle without feeling sick to your stomach! For me, that was about 20 this past Super Bowl Sunday. Par for the course. I also had no idea that Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce is actually paleo-friendly. A few other paleo hot sauces include Tabasco Brand Habanero Sauce, Tropical Pepper XXXXtra Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce, and Trader Joe’s Habanero Hot Sauce. Coming in hot, take your pick!
- 2 pounds of chicken wings and drummetes
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 12 oz. Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix garlic powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, salt and black pepper together in a small bowl.
- Rub spice mix on the chicken wings and drummetes and place on a lightly greased baking sheet lined with foil.
- Bake for 45 minutes until crispy.
- In a small saucepan, mix the hot sauce, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar together over low heat.
- Add a dash of garlic powder, salt and black pepper to the sauce and continue to stir over low heat for 5 minutes.
- When chicken has finished baking, add to a large bowl and toss with sauce until evenly coated.
Paleo Chipotle Tortilla(less) Soup
Your taste buds will do the cha-cha with this paleo tortilla-less soup! This soup is chock full of chicken and is delicious as-is but you can sprinkle a handful of my paleo tortilla chips on top for an additional crunch. Sprinkle some cayenne pepper and paprika for an even zestier crunch. Olé!
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 14 oz. can chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime
- avocado to garnish
- Heat olive oil, garlic, red onion and chicken in a large pot over medium-high heat and sauté for approximately 1 minute.
- Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne powder, salt and black pepper and stir well.
- Add diced tomatoes in juice, chicken broth and water, stir and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve with chopped fresh cilantro, lime and avocado!
General Panda’s Spicy Garlic Honey Sesame Chicken
This recipe needs no description – the title says it all. All I have to say is just try it for the flavor explosion of the century! If you have time, marinate the raw chicken in the sauce overnight but it’s not necessary because the caramelization of the sauce on the chicken after cooking gives it more than enough flavor. Serve with broccoli, over a bed of cauliflower rice or just by itself. General Panda approved!
- 2 pounds boneless and skinless chicken breasts
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp water
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp arrowroot powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- sesame seeds to garnish
- chopped fresh cilantro to garnish
- Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and season with garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
- Make the sauce by combining honey, sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, water, coconut aminos, red pepper flakes, garlic cloves and arrowroot powder in a small bowl.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook chicken pieces in just enough sauce to slightly cover the chicken until cooked (5 to 7 minutes).
- Turn the heat to high and brown both sides of the chicken until sauce has evaporated and caramelized onto the chicken (approximately an additional 8 to 10 minutes).
- Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped fresh cilantro and serve!
Paleo Italian Wedding Soup with Meatballs
Apparently it’s an Italian wedding tradition to serve meatball soup on the happiest day of their lives. All I know is that this soup is hearty, flavorful and delicious, making it the best day of my life. The fresh dill and spinach gives the soup a refreshing tone while your body craves every bite of zesty meatball that you get!
- ¾ pound ground chicken
- ¼ pound ground chicken sausage
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 tbsp almond milk
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- 10 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1½ cup baby spinach, trimmed
- 1 cup onion, minced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- ¾ cup celery, diced
- ¼ cup fresh dill, minced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the ground chicken and ground chicken sausage together in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, garlic, cilantro, garlic powder, egg, salt, black pepper, oregano, thyme and basil. Combine with chicken mixture.
- Beat egg lightly, incorporate the almond milk and pour over chicken.
- Mix well and form 1-inch meatballs.
- Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until browned.
- Set aside to cool.
- Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat in a large pot for 2 minutes.
- Add carrots and celery along with the garlic powder, cumin, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
- Stir in the chicken stock, apple cider vinegar and honey then bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the meatballs and fresh dill and simmer for an additional minute.
- Stir in the fresh spinach and add additional salt and pepper.
Yellow Coconut Curry Chicken with Paleo Coconut Rice
Thai food is my favorite but it’s not always the most paleo-friendly. The spiciness of this curry finds its perfect balance with the smooth and sweetness of the coconut cream. The delicious dish is served over delicately paleo rice infused with a hint of coconut. If you’re a nut lover, add in ¾ cup of cashews!
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup coconut cream (skimmed from the top of 1 refrigerated can of full fat coconut milk
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced sweet potatoes
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp thai yellow curry paste (or curry powder or garam masala)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- fresh chopped cilantro to garnish
- 2 cauliflower heads
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- Clean chicken and dice into 1 inch cubes.
- Sauté onions and garlic in coconut oil in a large saucepan over low - medium heat for 2 minutes then add the chicken cubes and continue to cook until chicken has slightly browned.
- Mix curry paste (or curry powder) with coconut cream and chicken broth and pour over the chicken.
- Add the tomatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes and stir.
- Stir in salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Cook on medium heat with the lid on for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Top with fresh cilantro and serve!
- Wash and chop cauliflower heads then grate in a food processor or with a cheese grater.
- Add grated cauliflower to a pot with ¼ cup chicken stock, ¼ cup coconut milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Cover and let steam for 7 minutes over medium heat.
- Uncover, stir and serve!
About Me
Hi, I'm the paleo panda! Join me on my journey for better and greater in eating, traveling and living. This is a collection of my life’s “musts”.
